Then There's You
by raikis
Summary: What if our body had a watch that counted down to the moment we meet our soulmate? Well, Lucy was about to meet hers. Nalu AU one-shot.


It appeared underneath her wrist when she was six years old. The touch of it was like mist. It was a watch that counted down on days, minutes, and seconds, but to what? She didn't know. All she knew is that as the days continued to diminish, the more it made her anxious. And as a little girl with very little knowledge, she had no idea what to think of it. But, also, as a little girl, her imagination lead to her thinking many things—things only she could see and only a person with a widen eye and large heart could understand. She would tell her parents everyday about the fantasies that shone in her brightest thoughts about true love, and many other tales she adopted from her story books. So, with these things in mind, she learned to love it. She woke up everyday to look at it with a smile on her face seeing the numbers lessen hour by hour, minute by minute. And even though she grew used to it, as the years passed and it got closer to the deadline, the anxious feeling remained. But after her mothers pass, she forgot about it. She no longer woke up and smiled at it, like the dimming numbers that counted down each second on her wrist never existed. Fore, indeed, her mother was the only one who understood her, and listened to her tales about meeting her true love when everyone else grew bored and tired of it. Because the woman knew that in a way, Lucy's imagination was right.

Years passed and she was now 17 years old, the watch is nearing it's final digit.

.

Then There's You

.

It was relaxing day in for Lucy. She sat at the end of her bed with her blankets and sheets circled and pulled around her, warm cup of tea by her bedside, and a book in her hands. The weather outside was cold, but the inside of her apartment was toasty and warmed her core. Her toes curled in delight in her slippers as she pressed the rim of her cup to her lips, feeling the warmth spread through her body as she took a small sip. A sigh escaped her lips as she set cup down, marking and closing her book and setting it down. She lifted her arms up above her to stretch and stood from her bed, stretching the stiff muscles in her legs as she walked across the room towards her bathroom. Flicking the light on, she walked up to the sink and mirror and started rubbing her hands under warm water before picking up her toothbrush.

It was a nice weekend, she thought, and she was excited for the first snow this year. Even though she has always preferred the warm, the sight of snowfall will always have a special place for her. It was something she loved doing when she was little with her mother. They would, along with her father occasionally, sit by the windows and watch the white dust fill the air and cover the streets. That was eleven years ago though, and this now. But that doesn't mean she can't still enjoy it alone.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she rinsed her mouth out in the sink and placed her toothbrush back in its assigned place. The bracelet she had on her wrist randomly snapped off, making her pause in surprise for a moment before, again, sighing and leaning down to pick it up.

That's when she saw it.

A cool feeling ran up her arm upon the bracelet snapping off, like mist circled and rotating around her skin the length of her wrist. It was a light feeling, almost feather-like, but also non-existent. Lucy stared at it for a few moments, taking in the texture and sight of it, watching the seconds tick up. After a minute passed, unlike what she would have done when she was little and smile, she panicked and jumped up, smashing the top of her head against her sink and crashing against the wall. She hissed painfully and held the stinging, sore spot for a few moments before lifting her wrist up in front her. Memories from her childhood flooded back to her, ones she had forgotten around the time her mother passed, ones she pushed back with little effort, forgotten. But unlike the last decade when she first discovered this, there was no days on it left. The familiar anxious feeling bubbled up in her chest as another minute passed, but this was not a bad feeling, no. Lucy remembers clearly what her mother told her about this.

_"Your fate has been intertwined with another's, Lucy," Her mother said, "that's what this means."_

_"How do you know?" Lucy asked, though a wide smile was plastered on her face, showing excitement. _

_The woman only smiled._

As a six year old girl back then, anyone would be excited at that time. But, unlike then, Lucy was no fool to know _exactly_ what her mother meant by what she said. And she also wasn't foolish enough to not know _why_ her mother knew of it.

But there were now exactly three hours left on her wrist, and now Lucy was full out panicking. Ignoring the pain from her head, she shot up from the floor and ran back into her bedroom and started pacing from the window and door, gripping her hair through her fingers as she tried to process.

This was her dream as a little girl, right? To meet her true love? But thinking of that now seemed embarrassing and impossible to her and spread a tingling warmth across her cheeks. Though . . . it would be nice, she thought.

Lucy stopped pacing and leaned down towards her dresser and eyed her image in the mirror that was hanging along the wall above it, and gasped. Her hair was sticking up in multiple placing and she had bags under her eyes from reading for hours straight—she looks horrible! With a short shrill coming from the back of her throat, she ran back in the bathroom. She then spent a good portion of her time fixing up her appearance, wasted a good two hours doing it, then stopped in thought, what is she doing? Who even knows she's going to meet her soul mate because of some watch that suspiciously appeared on her wrist when she was little? For all she could now, it could be counting down to the moment she dies.

Once that ridiculous thought struck her, she felt a cold flash run through her body, because, _yes_, that could be a possibility. And now that all the embarrassing, and quite nice, thoughts were pushed aside, a frown dropped down on her lips. Lucy took a look around her room for a few minutes. Now that her mind is filling with negativity, she can't help but think that this might be the last time she'll be home. She grabbed her jacket and scarf and headed for the door, thinking some cool air would help set her thoughts straight and get the stupid idea of _dying_ out of her head. Immediately a hard gust of wind hit her as she walked out and closed the door behind her, causing her to shiver and hug her arms around herself. She hopped herself down the steps and into the sidewalk where many people can be found walking amongst themselves as well, either alone or with a loved one.

Lucy envied them, but just a little bit. Biting her lip, she fingered the inside of her wrist in thought, wondering which it meant. Love? Death? Both almost exact opposites, she thought. But her mother _did_ tell her that it tied her fate with another's ten years ago, and the thought did cross her mind that her mother experienced this with her father, too. And, to tell the truth, she was hoping it meant it showed when she will meet that special someone. She hasn't felt this way since she would dream about her prince charming as a little girl. A nostalgic feeling, really.

Lucy didn't bother to look at the watch for the time she walked. She kept her eyes in front of her on the ground and her hands in her jacket to keep warm. Her breath was coming out in puffs in front of her, washing over her face as it blew away the farther she walked. How much time passed, she doesn't know. The thought of the time didn't cross her mind as she thought of a different life she could have with someone at her side, willing herself not to think about death. She is seventeen years old, _death shouldn't be a thought_.

She stopped at a crosswalk and looked up, exhaling slowly. The stars were scattered over the sky above her clearly, coating and making the lifeless darkened sky look bright despite the world beneath it. When the light turned red and the people around her started crossing the street, she didn't move and let the people walk around her to cross the street. She moved her sleeve down her wrist—

10 . . .

A loud gasp escaped her throat and she whipped her head back and looked around her frantically.

9 . . .

"Ah—sorry!" She apologized as she pumped into people, backing up to the middle of the sidewalk.

8 . . .

She stopped, feeling her chest throbbing fast against her ribcage, taking the moment to look around.

7 . . .

From her cheeks to the tips of her ears became flushed, and for once, the cold isn't to blame.

6 . . .

Anxiety filled her chest as the seconds continued to count down knowing something was going to happen. And also knowing that she is the only person right now silently freaking out in the middle of the sidewalk and probably receiving a lot of weird looks, which made her anxiety a little worse.

5 . . .

"Happy!" A sudden shout from the left of her sounded, automatically making her turn towards the source. Just as she did, a cat jumped and clawed up her legs, earning a loud squeak as it flopped into her chest.

4 . . .

"He—_ooff!_" She had no time to react before she was hit again, but this time the blow was much larger and enough to knock her straight off her feet and on her back.

3 . . .

All she saw was a blob of pink on her chest when she opened her eyes, and nearly wanted to scream when she noticed the male that currently had his face covered in her bosom.

2 . . .

Her voice caught in her throat when the male pushed himself up and shook himself off.

1 . . .

"Oye! Happy!" The male exclaimed, his expression becoming stern as he pulled the cat that she was holding against her chest out of her arms and into his, "Why'd ya run off like that? You could'da been killed!" Lucy took in a slow breath and pushed herself up into a seated position, being unable to take her eyes off him. He sent her a glance and did a double take, his eyes becoming wide and he, too, stared back at her. They sat there for a few minutes, loss of words, loss of breath, and barely blinking at one another until the cat in his arms decided to jump up and claw his way up Lucy's leg again, receiving, yet again, another yelp from her but succeeding in breaking their trance.

"Ow!" Lucy yelped, grumbling and holding her leg up away from the blue feline, narrowing her eyes grimly at it.

"Oh! Uh, sorry 'bout that!" The male jumped to his feet, shifted the animal to one arm and extended the other down to help her off the ground. Lucy nodded to him and felt her cheeks burn, but played it off and ignored it as he sheepishly rubbed the side of his neck in front of her. If she were to describe him in just a few words, they would be: adorable, handsome, and pink, because his striking salmon-colored hair, which seemed to fit him greatly, was the first things she saw implanted between her breast.

"It's okay!" She squeaked suddenly, remembering their prior position on the ground and where _exactly_ his face was.

The boy chuckled and gave her an amused look and a grin that made her heart leap, "I'm Natsu," Again, he shifted the cat in his arms and help his hand out to her, which Lucy gripped with her own gladly. She noticed all too much how much larger and firmer his hand was compared to hers, and smiled, giving him a firm shake of her own.

"Lucy," She responded, and even after that, their hands were still interlocked and shaking between them, dumbly. Their eyes met once again and the shaking slowed, but their hands remained in place. The cat climbed its way out of Natsu's hold and onto his shoulders, wrapping itself around the back of his neck and snuggling into the fabric of his scarf, but yet, it the movement unfazed him.

A warm feeling erupted in the pit of Lucy's stomach that spread like fire to her chest and limbs, and she didn't even take notice that the watch that was previously shown on the inside of her wrist was gone.

* * *

><p>an: i like posting random one-shots after i publish a new story. thank you for reading! :)


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